REVIEW: Tangled by Carolyn Mackler

TANGLED

By, Carolyn Mackler

Published by Harperteen

I borrowed this book from Mar's personal books so it was the type of book I would read a little and then put down for a while to read something from the library; so the reading time it took me for Tangled was longer than normal but that in no way showed how much I enjoyed this book; which I did enjoy very much.

The story is told from the point of view of several different characters who have lives that have crossed and in a way  I say this is a story collection but I know story collections or anthologies is a bad word in the publishing world and there is a  reason books like this are never called a collection of any sort, even if it is or isn't, Mar and I went a few minutes back and forth on that subject sitting on the balcony reading one day.

My favorite part of the book is how it keeps you reading and moving into things because the formating and how the stories were told didn't let you guess what was going to happen until the last minute. If you have read a lot of books or write your own books you probably have a hard time not thinking about what this is leading to or what this means when reading something. I hurt my own enjoyment of books at times by over thinking where things are going and for the most part I couldn't do that with Tangled. When people ask me why I hardly ever give any prose books 5 stars its usually for this reason.

Before anyone asks, yes I did love The Earth, My Butt, And Other Big Round Things, I have a signed copy of the book, and if you are asking what do I consider her best book it still is The Earth... but that doesn't in any way mean that I'm down grading Tangled. The Earth... is actually one of my favorite books of the past five years.

Carolyn Mackler creates characters that you care about and even more important also characters you hate. Characters with their own voices, lives, and inner joys or fears and most of the time like real life both at the same time. When she needs to go places some others would shy away from in her stories she goes there as much as the story needs her to.

4 out of 5 Stars

Review(c)SYSTEM*PUBLISHING

BRIAN C. WILLIAMS

REVIEW: Tangled by Carolyn Mackler

ALAN, ORLANDO, AND TWO DAYS WITHOUT SLEEP

I attended ALAN with Mar yesterday. She had went the previous day with one of her sisters but I had writing that really needed to get cracked out and couldn't go with them. All of us would have liked to have attended the whole event but had to pick and choose days that fit into our lives. Though we were both there Mar went to the talks and got the autographs while I tried to get more writing done just outside the doors sitting on park benches.

Speaking of the park benches. I was sitting on the hard benches inside the convention hall, turned sideways with my legs crossed, writing and to one side of me was a lady typing on her laptop. I thought she looked familiar. I had a feeling it was Ellen Hopkins, writer of books such as CRANK, but wasn't sure. I also was too deep into a chapter to distract myself. I asked Mar later when we meet up for lunch but she didn't know for sure by my description but I just checked her website and it was her. I've never read any of her books but Mar has and I have heard of her a lot from other friends. Oh, and at the same time standing on the other side of me beside my bench was Tom Angleberger and I love his book THE STRANGE CASE OF ORIGAMI YODA. Funny how things like that happen. Mar had gotten an ARC of  his new book HORTON HALFPOTT signed for me earlier in the day so things started out good for me in the day.

It may have been because of the distraction of so many writers around me but I didn't notice until I opened files to start writing today but I finished my NANOWRIMO project yesterday. That was a nice check off of the book in a very busy writing month for me.

They were giving out boxes of books and Mar and her sister got tons signed. I got books signed by Tom Angleberger as I said above and also THE EARTH, MY BUTT, AND OTHER BIG ROUND THINGS by Carolyn Mackler but I also picked up books to read such as CRUEL SUMMER by Alyson Noel, HEREVILLE by Barry Deutsch, and THE LOOKING GLASS WARS(which people have been telling me to read for a long time) by Frank Beddor.

Wish to write more but need to get back to writing.

ALAN, ORLANDO, AND TWO DAYS WITHOUT SLEEP